PESHAWAR, March 10: The NWFP government is trying to abolish the institution-based practice in public sector hospitals at a time when its benefits have started emerging, said a health department official on Monday.

“The government has already earned Rs210 million since the launch of the institution-based practice (IBP) in March last year. Of which Rs20 million went to hospitals’ employees,” said the official.

According to him, the government is being misguided by a few individuals, who had tendered resignations over the IBP.

The government had introduced the IBP with a view to regularizing the practice by doctors and facilitating patients. Doctors were given options, either to do private practice or join the IBP. In the process, some 50 doctors resigned to opt for private practice.

Soon after the installation of the MMA government, some doctors, known for their association with the think tank of Jamaat-i-Islami which is component party of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, launched a campaign to do away with the IBP and revert to the old system. A parliamentary committee is looking into the matter and indications suggest that the IBP would be abolished.

“Literally, the IBP has come to an end because doctors are not coming to hospitals for the IBP. The number of patients is almost zero,” said the official. However, he added, even if the committee recommended the abolition of the IBP it would not be too easy a job to abolish it.

The silence of Governor Iftikhar Hussain Shah, who was instrumental in introducing the IBP, over the expected abolition of the IBP, is a matter of concern, says a source in the health department.

The official pointed out that the IBP had been introduced through an ordinance promulgated by the governor and approved by the cabinet. The government, he said, would have to do away with the ordinance to abolish the IBP which was a lengthy process.

The biggest advantage of the IBP is the presence of specialist doctors in hospitals in evenings. Now, there is no specialist doctor in evening shift, because all of them go to their clinics, leaving patients at the mercy of house officers.